Wimbledon of all places! Of all tournaments! Wimbledon who has equal payouts for male and female champions. Tennis, of all sports... women's tennis, who celebrated Billie Jean King for being able to beat Bobby Riggs because he was a man not because of her short skirts or her breasts or because she grunted like a porn star when she was playing a tennis match.

I am outraged. I know I should just let it go. The Wimbledon committee is probably going for television ratings and advertising revenue. I understand business, I understand that women's tennis isn't necessarily what people all over the world are choosing to watch this weekend.

Wimbledon promoters called it "The Battle of the Babes" when Victoria Azarenka, seeded 8th in the tournament, took on Cristea, seeded 28th, at Centre Court on Friday. The same day, second seed Serena Williams, undoubtedly one of the great players the sport has ever seen, was relegated to play her match on the No. 2 court.

The American superstar got lost on her way to the court and was 6 minutes late for her match.

Many
of the seats on Centre Court for the "Babe" match remained empty.
Die-hard tennis fans who came to the event seemed to know better -
which indicated the move had more to do with television ratings.

Before I sat down to write this post I was talking to my mother-in-law about it. She was surprised, but then she brought up how beautiful and athletic the William's sisters were. I said "Yes, and they are also relegated to the second court because they aren't blonde haired and blue eyed."

This is wrong it so many ways, where do I start? First of all, that
definition of attractiveness is the white, male All England Club's
definition. Venus and Serena Williams are some of the most gorgeous
ladies out on the court. But see, this is about being blonde and
leggy. If you're not blonde and leggy, you're not attractive. Never
have been, never will be....

In other words, it came as no surprise to me at all to read about the
Centre Court selections; I find this news to be part and parcel of the
sexist culture of my nation and other nations that produce tennis
players, as well as the sexist culture of sports in general. As ugly as
the sexism is, however, there is more than sexism in play in these
selections. The "babes" selected to play on Centre Court--except in
situations in which the selections are default--like the "babes"
selected as the tour's hottest women on the Australian Open website,
have one thing in common--their skin color. Serena Williams is not a
babe. Li Na is not a babe. There are a lot of people, incidentally, who
think these two women are beautiful, but they do not qualify for "babe"
status. And while I realize that consideration of beauty is very
subjective, it is hardly a coincidence that African American and Asian
women do not ever appear on the list. The world's most beautiful
lesbian could be on the tour, too, and--if she were out--you can be
assured she would not be on the list, either.

It makes me sad. It makes me sick. Fortunately, for Wimbledon and for the WTA no matter who they put in the spotlight, the cream still rises and I will still be watching the Williams sisters battle it out. Even if the Wimbledon Committee would rather see Gisela Dulko play against Victoria Azarenka I can't wait to see Venus and Serena again. They are the best and that is why I will be tuning in to the finals.